Chapter 7 - Your Lives Are Now Mine

Veyron 

Vast stone walls enclosed the throne room, amplifying every breath. High ceilings disappeared into shadows. A massive tapestry hung behind the throne, depicting a wolf under a blood-red moon. Its eyes, glowing like embers, tracked every movement with chilling precision.

Guards in polished black armor stood at rigid attention. Their faces were impassive, but their eyes betrayed unease. At the foot of the raised dais, disheveled captives knelt, their heads bowed low. Their clothing was torn, stained with the gore of battle. Chains hung from their wrists.

The doors groaned open, reverberating through the chamber. The captives flinched, gazes dropping lower, some squeezing their eyes shut in a futile attempt to make themselves invisible.

Veyron entered, dark titanium hair framing the jagged scar that carved across his brow, nose, and jawline. The cloak over his brawny shoulders swayed, whispering like shadows come to life. 

The scent of leather, iron, and blood carried the reminder of battles he’d won and the lives he’d claimed. The guards stiffened as he approached, their eyes lowering. They dare not meet his bronzed ochre eyes that glowed like embers cooled to a merciless edge.

Veyron circled the captives sizing up his prey. His gaze slid over Aldric, calm and unreadable. He paused in front of him, brushing idly over the hilt of his blade.

Aldric's jaw tightened, defiance flashing in his eyes. "You’ve destroyed us, humiliated us. But no amount of power gives you the right to treat us like this."

Veyron’s gaze turned cold as ice. His eyes narrowed, pupils flickering like a wolf in the dark. 

Veyron’s wolf, Eryx snarled inside his mind, “he thinks he can act as he did during the last full moon without repercussions.”

"I only take what is mine. What you owe me." Veyron growled, voice like a distant thunderstorm. "Your pack. Your people. Even your pride."

Aldric’s gaze locked onto Veyron's, defiance turning into desperation. "Seraphina. She’s... desirable. You could have her, a gift from me, just spare us."

Veyron moved with terrifying speed. One moment, he was standing still, the next his hand was around Aldric’s throat, lifting him off the ground. His unforgiving grip crushing like iron. 

"Don’t mistake me for a fool."

Eryx’s voice rumbled. Let me tear them apart.

Veyron’s lips curled into a sadistic smile. “I’ll leave you with the mark of your failure for now,” Veyron said, his voice dripping with contempt. "But don’t think for a moment it can't get worse."

A servant entered, holding a branding iron, its metal glowing a dangerous red. The hiss of sizzling skin followed by the acrid scent of burning flesh filled the room. Aldric's eyes widened in horror, his howl of pain reverberating off the walls.

Aldric crumpled to the floor, broken and gasping for breath. This is what you brought upon yourself, Veyron thought.

A woman stepped up behind Veyron, her voice commanding. "You don’t need to waste more energy on them. They’ve already surrendered. Your focus should return to your path."

He nodded. “Of course,” he murmured, moving on.

His gaze swept over Selene, noting the calculating gleam in her eyes. “You’re a risk better managed in silence,” he said, his voice devoid of pity. “I should take your tongue.”

Then he turned to Seraphina, trembling at his feet. 

"What are you even worth?" Veyron sneered, disgust flashing through his eyes.

Eryx howled. “She’s no more than a pretty distraction.”

Veyron returned to Aldric, who lay in a crumpled heap. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl. 

"Of all of you, I find you the least valuable. Weak. Pathetic."

He met his Mistress’s gaze across the room, her subtle nod confirming his decision. Then, he turned back to Aldric, chuckling darkly. 

"I’ll grant you each other’s company as you vanish into nothingness."

His eyes glinted with amusement, but there was nothing human in his expression. 

“Your lives are mine now,” he declared. “Resist, and you forfeit what little mercy I offer.”

Veyron strode up to the throne. The jagged stone’s cruel angles and ancient etchings of forgotten wars bowed before him. As he settled into it, his posture spoke of both man and beast. 

His eyes gleamed with detached satisfaction, watching the captives' being hauled away. All who kneel before us will be ours, he thought. 

In his mind, Eryx snarled, Let them suffer. They deserve worse.

But Veyron merely smiled, as he leaned back against the throne, a reflection of the untamable predator he had become.